Summary: Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweetings has done everything according to plan in her life, until now. She’s made an unthinkable mistake that’s bound to ruin her career at one of England’s top law firms. Instead of waiting to find out, Samantha flees London on a train and ends up in a small village. As she asks for help from a couple in town, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and lands a job as a housekeeper. While Samantha’s housekeepers don’t know she’s a lawyer, Samantha doesn’t know how to turn on an oven, let alone run a household. As she adjusts more and more to life as a housekeeper, Samantha questions if she’ll ever be able to return to her old life.

My Rating: 4.5/ 5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I am a firm believer in that everyone needs a Sophie Kinsella book in their life. I absolutely love British contemporaries, and The Undomestic Goddess is sure to please for my fellow British contemporary-loving readers. One of my favorite aspects of many  British contemporaries I’ve read is seeing our main protagonists transition from city life to village life. Samantha’s life is consumed by her job as a lawyer, and I loved seeing her really embrace life as Trish and Eddie’s housekeeper and being part of village life with Nathaniel.

One of the biggest recurring parts of the novel is the fact that Samantha has no idea what it’s like to be a housekeeper. It was really comical to read her mishaps—thank gosh that girl has a credit card—and I especially enjoyed the scene where Nathaniel saves her from her burning chickpeas and flour-infused gravy. I really loved seeing Samantha grow closer to Nathaniel and to his mom, Iris. Iris’s cooking lessons with Samantha were among my favorite scenes in the novel—I love to eat food, I love to read about food!

I flew through The Undomestic Goddess in two days—I admit that it would have a bit faster if it hadn’t been for Thanksgiving prep and time with family- and I simply couldn’t put it down. It was so funny to see Samantha’s shenanigans play out with Trish, and I loved her relationship with Nathaniel and the Greigers grow more and more. It was a bit frustrating, but funny to see Trish and Eddie unaware of Samantha’s true intelligence. I also wanted her to abandon any idea of going back to her life in London. What else could she need beside free rooming, a cute gardener, and bread baking lessons?

My only complaint about The Undomestic Goddess is that we could have gotten to the ending a bit sooner, as Samantha debates if she’ll go back to London and work in law. I also wish that we got see more of Samantha’s life after she makes her final decision.

Have you read The Undomestic Goddess? If you have, I highly recommend picking up Sophie Kinsella’s latest book, My Not-So Perfect Life. Share your thoughts & feels in the comments!